The black woods

2

The Piersons' cabin was a small squat building that looked like it was made of mud and twigs.  A large oven was outside and a paddock with a few cows was nearby.  

A large stack of fresh cut timbers dominated what was left of the small clearing. Prepped and ready for the barn raising. 

Mrs. Pierson, a short fat woman, not unlike her house stood by the oven stirring a large pot that hung from a hook over the fire. Her son Timothy sat on a stump not far from her. 

Kiata hugged her father at the edge of the small clearing. She wouldn't be stopping at the Piersons. At one time her mother had hoped she would accept the interest of their son but something about him made her skin crawl. 

Timothy was several years her senior and still living in his parents cabin with what seemed to be little drive to change that. 

His thick hands rarely saw work and his mother was constantly defending him. He always seemed to linger nearby but never actually doing anything. It annoyed her to no end her father was spending time helping Mr. Pierson when he had a full grown son.

Kiata stepped back into the woods and let her feet carry her away. Her path set by the wood itself she was miles away in the blink of an eye.

A brook babbled just around the next bend and she stopped to fill her canteen and take a break.

Sitting on a large stone she pulled some dried meat from her pack and watched the water flow around her.